Emerald Queen Casino June 15th
Undefeated Austin Brooks to defend his WBA Continental USA Featherweight title vs. 2016 Armenian Olympian Aran Avagyan
LOS ANGELES (May 13, 2024) – Toro Promotions, Inc., in association with Whitfield Haydon Boxing, returns June 15th to the famed Emerald Queen Casino (EQC) in Tacoma, Washington, to showcase its powerful stable of professional boxers on the “EQC Fight Night” card.
Undefeated Austin Brooks (12-0, 5 KOs), fighting out of La Mesa (CA), defends his World Boxing Association (WBA) Continental super featherweight title for the first time, versus 2015 Armenian Olympian Aram “Warrior” Avagyan (11-1-2, 5 KOs) in an All-Toro 10-round main event.
Brooks, 28, captured his WBA Continental USA belt in his last fight, when he knocked out previously unbeaten (7-0) Jose Manuel Izaguirre in the seventh round this past February 10th in Long Beach, California. Brooks, a southpaw, has fought only once at EQC, which ended in a six-round technical knockout of Anthony Chavez (11-3-1) on August 26, 2023.
Avagyan, now living in Burbank (CA), was a two-time bronze medalist in the European Championships as an amateur, in addition to representing his country at the 2016 Olympics. His most recent fight, after nearly three years of inactivity, was on April 12th in Colorado, in which his opponent, Juan Santiago, was unable to continue after three rounds.
Red-hot, power broker and 2020 Ukraine Olympian, Tsotne Rogava (7-0, 7 KOs), continues his accelerated march to a world heavyweight rating, when the 6’ 5”, 270-pounder takes on battle-tested Jon Bolden (10-13-1, 7 KOs), of Seattle, in the eight-round co-featured event.
A champion kickboxer who has successfully transitioned to boxing, the Georgia-native and Ukraine-raised Rogava has won his last four fights via first-round stoppages, and he’s only fought a grand total of nine rounds in seven pro bouts to date. Rogava now resides in Marina del Rey (CA), and he is trained by Hall of Famer Joe Goossen.
Toro Promotions has an imposing group of gifted and large heavyweight, including Rogava, Dante Stone (16-1, 11 KOs), Alexander “The Great” Flores (19-4-1, 17 KOs) and another rising prospect, Kingsley “The Black Lion” Ibeh (12-1, 10 KOs), who will also be in action on the June 15th show.
Ibeh, who is a native of Nigeria who now resides in Phoenix, is a cousin of the retired, infamous heavyweight boxer Ike Ibeabuchi. The 6’ 4”, 300-pound Ibeh played football in college (Washburn U.) as well as professionally in the Canadian Football League.
Veteran mixed-martial-arts fighter Juan Torres (11-6-1, 4 KOs), the former Texas and ABF USA heavyweight champion, will challenge Ibeh in the eight-round Special Heavyweight Attraction.
Undefeated Nicaraguan super featherweight prospect Nilo Guerrero (8-0, 1 KO), a 2016 Nicaragua Youth National Champion who lives in Coachella (CA), faces 60-fight veteran Diuhi “Elegante” Olguin in a six-round match. Guerrero, 23, skillfully uses his abnormal 6’ 1” height (and length) to a tremendous advantage thus far in the super featherweight division.
Also scheduled to fight on the undercard in four-rounders is Hoquiam (WA) super welterweight Nathan “Superman” Stolen (1-0, 1 KO), another MMA fighter who has fought in the highly respected Bellator, vs. Julio Munoz, Jr. (0-0-1), of Tucson, and Auburn (WA) lightweight Agustin Tovar (1-0) vs. Robert Jimenez (0-2), of Nampa, Idaho.
Card subject to change.
Tickets are on sale now for $70.00 and $45.00 and may be purchased online at https://emeraldqueen.com/boxing/ or by calling (253) 594-7777. Tickets purchased at the Emerald Queen Shop are eligible for up to a 20-discount, plus no taxes or processing fees. Must be 21 years of age to attend. Doors open at 6 p.m. PT, first bout at 7 p.m. PT.
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Yakima Legends Casino June 28th
Roy Jones Jr and matchmaker Keith Weir have slated an action-packed fight card for the June 28th show at Legends Casino in Toppenish, Washington.
In the main event, Mandeep Jangra will face Josue Cadena in a ten round super feather weight bout. Jangra and Gerardo Esquivel were engaged in the fight of the night as the semi-main event at the last Roy Jones show in Toppenish, and Cadena will enter the ring bringing all the skill and talent of Esquivel that frustrated Jangra early in the fight. Jangra, with an unbeaten record, has shown the ability to make adjustments mid fight to turn the momentum to his favor. Both of these men are deserving of a main event fight.
In the semi-main event, Gerardo Esquivel will go to battle against unbeaten Piotr Apostol in an eight-round lightweight bout. Fans should not be fooled by the four losses on Esquivel’s record. Those losses have come on his opponent’s home turf, and though in the end they were unanimous decision losses, the result swung on the outcome of one or two rounds. Apostol has shown some power, winning two bouts by way of the TKO, but just as impressive is the fact that in his unanimous decision wins, he has lost only three rounds on the judges’ score cards.
Local fighter Andrew Murphy will bring his unbeaten record in to the ring to face Robelle Roberts who is making the trip west from Lexington, Kentucky for this eight-round super middleweight bout. In his last appearance at Legends, Murphy was in tough when facing Devontae McDonald. Murphy, in that bout, showed the ability to make adjustments to combat McDonald’s power with heavy shots of his own in order to claim the win in the closing rounds. Roberts is on a two bout win streak after claiming shutout wins over the course of ten rounds. While Murphy has an edge in the knockout category, both men carry the power to end a fight quickly.
Devontae McDonald earned the right to fight on this card after his battle with Andrew Murphy on the last one. McDonald will step in to fight Billy Wagner in a six round middleweight bout. This looks to be another of the evenly matched fights on the card. Both men have one once by knockout, both men have lost four bouts, and Wagner has the edge in the win column, by one fight, due to his having fought once more than McDonald. Though McDonald has lost his previous two entries in the ring, both have been close, the result swinging on the outcome f one or two rounds.
Fight fans know that there are times when looking at a fighter’s record is not the best way to judge what they bring to the ring. For instance, Kevin Davila, who has lost thirteen times, has yet to be in a lopsided bout. He will face Cade Howell in a four round welterweight battle, Howell brings tot eh fight an impressive four wins by knockout in his six fights, but don’t go looking for an easy KO in this fight as Davila has only lost one of twenty-one by knockout. This will be only the second time that Howell has faced a fighter with as much ring experience as Davila, and this one should go the distance.
In another of the interesting matches on the card, local favorite Carlos Villanueva will face unbeaten Canadian Brandon Colantonio in a four round cruiserweight fight. Villanueva is on a four bout win streak, with his last win coming against unbeaten Alberto Rivas on the last Legends card. Colonantonio will be fighting for the second time outside of his native Canada, and he returned home with a win after his last trip. This proves to be in interesting match between two big men who while possessing knockout power, have proven to fight strategically in order to win.
Tickets are avalable by clicking HERE.
The fights begin at 7 pm. |
